Nemesis (Vintage International)

With Nemesis, Philip Roth has added another novel (arguably, at 280 pages, short enough to be a novella) to his series. The others were The Humbling, Everyman and Indignation. Luckily, each can be read out of order. Nemesis not only covers a polio outbreak in Newark in the summer of 1944 but also contains a suspenseful and surprising twist. At the center of the book is a physical education teacher name Eugene (nicknamed "Bucky") Cantor. He organizes sports programs for boys to help keep up morale and also distract the youngsters from the polio epidemic in Newark.Against his best instincts, Bucky gives in to his girlfriend's pleas to leave Newark and help out at a summer camp in Pennsylvania. He does resist but finally gives in. However, he does feel extremely guilty and even believes he may have betrayed the children in Newark.The book is extremely well-written, especially given Roth's trademark attention to the smallest details. Readers not only gain new information about polio but also possible ways to approach life and unpredictable illness and death - before a polio vaccine was created. There is also a secret about Bucky that I can't reveal or it would be a major spoiler.From my perspective, it would have been fascinating if this book was written in first person, in the voice of Bucky. It is not. Even so, Bucky is a riveting character who seems to be determined to fight back and not let polio overwhelm his spirit - and to encourage others to fight back as well. In time, events lead Bucky to judge himself. Bucky's personality is also revealed - later in the book - through the perspective of Arnie, one of the boys struck down by polio. Arnie encounters Bucky and learns about Bucky's life. He judges Bucky - but for somewhat different reasons than Bucky judges himself. This additional perspective adds depth and richness to the book.There is also a larger view of the polio epidemic in both Newark and Pennsylvania, including how the average person reacted, often with great fear, depression, and desperate attempts to control outbreaks. Anti-Semitism and scapegoating run rampant. Like the other Nemesis books, there is a moment when one person, Bucky, has a chance to follow his best impulses or give in to what turns out to be a serious weakness (but only in retrospect).While you may find other volumes in the Nemesis series to be more compelling, this is the one that held my attention most fully. There is an astonishing amount of information and detail in this relatively short book. To be fair, it should not be compared to some of Roth's better known works. Instead it stands on its own, probably not destined to become one of Roth's classics. Even so, it is a thought-provoking work, centering on how to handle uncontrollable and life-threatening events as well as coping with random but inevitable deaths or deformities from polio. Of course, this includes the particularly painful loss of children, among parents' worst nightmares.It is greatly to Roth's credit that Bucky is so believable, both in his strengths and flaws. The title, Nemesis, has a multitude of meanings and covers Bucky's struggles to resist despair. Nemesis also alludes to the epidemic itself.. The book is tightly written and well worth reading.

First of all, I enjoyed this book. It's a quick read, short, with simple sentences. But more importantly, I found myself wrapped up in its story--to my surprise.Even when I protested the writing style out loud ("Why so much Newark geography? Why is he explaining to us how a fan tries to cool the air? Why does he take the pedantic tone of an old newsreel?") I found myself coming back to the book, affected by it and eager to find out what comes next.It is not typical Roth, by which I mean there's not much humor and the one sex scene is practically G rated. Which is a good thing, considering how pornographic his previous novel was. This one reminds me somewhat of his American Pastoral (?), with its reminiscence of a high school jock. Also resembles Roth's Indignation (Vintage International), in that it's short and quick, steeped in details of the past, and its main character is an all-around good guy who falls on hard times.But also, as a lifelong wheelchair-user myself, I expected to be offended by some of the descriptions of disabilities in general and paralysis in particular. After all, polio is a central character here, if not THE central character. Yet the book is suffused with such a high degree of humanity that I wasn't particularly offended--until the end. Not to give anything away, but there is one scene, near the end, that reeks of a cliché about the newly disabled ... one that's invoked in many Hollywood stories, actually, and to my knowledge is never true in real life. Namely, the idea that the embittered "cripple" rejects the world for no good reason other than a basic character flaw ... rejects the world before it can reject him/her! The external deformity practically symbolizes an internal deformity. For me, this shopworn and completely unfair bit marred the narrative significantly both because it's lazy writing and offensively prejudiced. Believe me, more people with disabilities are rejected than reject.OK, one more point that might cause offense. It involves Horace, who has autism or mental retardation or some such cognitive disability, and gets labeled "the moron." I suppose that's how it was in those days. It's before my time, but I think the depiction is probably pretty accurate. I don't think Roth himself is saying it's right to treat Horace this way; it's just how things were. (Note to those who criticize the N word in Mark Twain or want to skip over the U.S. Constitution's passages re slavery. Let's not forget the sins of the past, lest we become even more likely to repeat them than we would be otherwise.)At any rate, I would say go for it--read this book. It's amazing to see how little has changed in the way of public panic even while everything has changed in terms of medicine.

Best Philip Roth book and latest

Utilizzato per uso scolastico. Soddisfatto

Extraordinary book about the shadow of polio that befell upon children and young men destroying brilliant futures and shredding the souls who were meant to flourish

Very well written. Is the first Philip Roth book that I read but won't be last. It's a long build up of emotions, history, and characters.Recommended.

Warum ich diese Beurteilung schreibe?Siehe Ph. Roth: Atomkrieg oder Polio, das waren die beiden Bedrohungen, die bis in die 60er Jahre über uns schwebten. Schon wieder vergessen, die Säle voll Eiserner Lungen ?Wem würden Sie die Lektüre empfehlen?1. Den birkenstockbeschuhten, impfverweigernden Mütter, die sich als Trittbrettfahrer einer durchgeimpften Bevölkerung auf den Impfschutz der andren verlassen2. Den spendenlahmen Rotariern, die nach 30 Jahren Kampf gegen Polio 1,5 Millionen Kindern das Leben gerettet, 10 Millionen poliogeschädigte Menschen verhindert und 2.500 Millionen Kinder geimpft haben und jetzt nicht müde werden dürfen, um die letzten Schritte bis zur Unterbrechung der Infektionskette zu ermöglichen.